The All Whites have been the dominant force in Oceania football since Australia jumped ship to the Asia in 2006 but have fallen short in intercontinental playoffs in their last three attempts to qualify for the World Cup.
The expanded 2026 tournament, however, means direct passage for the best team from Oceania and the New Zealanders know that winning five qualifying matches will secure them a third trip to the finals after 1982 and 2010.
A journey New Zealand hope will take them to packed World Cup stadiums in the United States, Canada and Mexico in two years' time began on Friday in front of a smattering of spectators, many seated on grass banks, in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Winger Eli Just gave the All Whites the perfect start when he curled the ball into the net from the edge of the box after just 90 seconds at Freshwater Stadium.
New Zealand doubled their advantage in the 67th minute, when substitute Sam Sutton's deep corner found skipper Wood who steered the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Woodsman delivers yet again 🌳🔥— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) @NFFC's Chris Wood with the second against Tahiti in our first World Cup qualifying match 🇳🇿⚔�🇵🇫 pic.twitter.com/gyIlOIFgnVOctober 11, 2024
Nottingham Forest forward Wood departed soon afterwards and Ben Waine added the third a minute from fulltime.
"We got the job done we needed. We won the game. We got the three points," said New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley.
"Coming away from home into these environments is challenging. So it was pretty safely navigated."
New Zealand will next host Vanuatu in Hamilton on November 15 before their final group match against Samoa in the same city three days later.
In the opening Group A matches played in Suva on Thursday, Fiji edged Solomon Islands 1-0 and New Caledonia beat Papua New Guinea 3-1.
The top two teams from each of the two groups will progress to the third stage of qualifying, a four-team knockout tournament in New Zealand next March which will decide which nation bags the automatic World Cup spot.
